The Science of Love and Evil
by SenshiAlchemist
Summary: [SM & FMA] It's hard for an alchemist to find science in the asinine weaponry of the Sailor Soldiers & it's difficult for the Senshi to comprehend a world where love isn't a power... But as both stories meet, an understanding of each side must be reached.
1. Prologue NEW!

**The Science of Love and Evil**  
_A Sailor Moon / Full Metal Alchemist Crossover_

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Prologue

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The young girl with the sky-coloured eyes was sitting on the bed, alone in her darkened room, shaking slightly as she wept.

She wasn't crying because of the soreness in her arms, legs, and back caused by the strenuous work she had to do that day; (after using vacation days to go to Central, she'd had plenty to make up for around the shop). Perhaps the physical pain she was feeling from carrying around boxes constantly along with fixing prosthetic limbs would have made sense as the reason for her tears, and had anyone asked why she had lain down in her bed crying herself to sleep, she probably would have told them that it was. However, truthfully, her suffering was from a different type of hurt. Even though her body ached all over on the outside, it was what was inside her heart and mind that made her clutch the sheets tighter by the second and shiver even under her multiple covers.

Digging her head into her pillow so that her sobs wouldn't be heard, she wished once again that he were there with her. She wished that she was pressed up against his shirt rather than her tear-soaked pillow, she wanted to know for sure that he was alive and well, and every now and then during the night she allowed herself to yearn for his touch. She felt selfish because of her impatience for his return: didn't he have a brother to take care of? A brother who she also saw as part of her family? Didn't it make her gluttonous, to rather have both brothers back with her than out looking for what they wanted - for what they needed?

What they needed was what she couldn't give them, no matter how many arms and legs she built. For those arms and legs, no matter their functionality, still weren't _real_. Metal was useful and sleek and interesting, but it wasn't flesh. And even she preferred the latter. She loved automail, but she loved them more – if she could end their quest and make real bodies instead of metal, well…

She'd miss the constant use of tools, the smell of steel, the texture of unfinished iron, the look of titanium, but if the blonde-haired alchemist and his adorable brother were sitting next to her with real, full bodies… none of those other things would matter. However, automail wasn't alchemy, and that was just the way it was. She could heat, bend, hammer, sculpt, and fold metal, but she couldn't manipulate it in the way that they could. She could deliver a baby, but she didn't know how to save a life that had already begun. All she really knew how to do for them was wait.

Slowly, the girl got out of bed temporarily to grab a certain red coat out of its drawer. As she returned to her tear–stained sheets she held it close and took in the wonderful scent she seldom had the wonderful opportunity to smell. There was metal from an automail arm, alchemy's version of "soap" from his sad excuse for laundry detergent, the absence of oil (which _would_ have been there if he looked after his damn arm properly)… and something else she just couldn't place. It wasn't sweat or even cologne or anything of the sort… it was just… _him._ His jacket didn't have the aroma of a store-made fragrance and it didn't have some scent that could be defined and written down for the public to understand, because if it could have been written down it wouldn't have been a one-line definition, it would have been a novel that only this girl and few others could read. To her he smelled like anger and fear and hope and dedication and so many other things… but most of all, he smelled like strength; strength as something that one needed to fight for those they cared for, (even if he never said those three words out loud to his brother, or anyone, for that matter). The essence she breathed in was part of what kept her going – she was inspired by it to do better for everyone she cared about, it calmed her down when she was afraid, and most of all, it helped her wait for some day when she hoped she would feel its source nearby, always.

As she gradually began to drift through the sea between dreams and reality, she caught glimpses of the stars out her window and visioned the sun, and fresh air, and fields, and a better time filled with family and without fear. She heard the clamouring of some machine she must have been proud of for building and the rustle of the grass under a good old dog's feet and felt fingers intertwined with hers, and she couldn't tell whether those fingers were made of metal or flesh but she didn't really care, because she knew they were Edward's and that was all that mattered. Her brother and grandmother and parents were somewhere close by, unharmed, and as she imagined more of this happy place she allowed herself to have the most sentimental thought before sleep claimed her; she wished she had the ability to do something other than wait, her own kind of alchemy, one which would protect the ones she loved.

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She awoke from dusty winds and nightmares to a reality of soft raindrops pattering on her window. It was too easy to shiver from fear, fear that her dreams would be more than simply dreams. She had dreamt that he had died, he had died in her hands and she was unable to do anything about it. Confessing her years-old love for him had done him no good; her love couldn't stop his pain or help him breathe. Her uniform had been tattered and torn, her chain whip lost long ago, her tiara broken, but she didn't care because she'd rather lose all of that than lose him, for he was all that mattered.

Even her trusty cat had gone astray somewhere in the midst of her subconscious mind, but as things slowly came into focus she realised he was sleeping in her pile of stuffed animals, curled up into a little ball as usual. Moving cautiously so that she wouldn't wake him, she reached into the bottom of a certain drawer to retrieve a particular possession. She unfolded the paper carefully and read the words, making sure to take in every single one to the best of her ability, regardless of the fact she'd read it several times before. It was a note he had written her in school, just a simple little thing she had carried with her ever since he had given it. She treasured it and kept it hidden, and now it lead her to remember all the wonderful times they had shared together. All the laughter, the jokes, the hugs… it all came back to her suddenly. If she thought hard enough, she could remember just the way his smile made her heard skip a few beats and the way his voice made even her worst days seem alright. But in remembering all of these great things, she also remembered the sorrowful ones. In thinking of how much she missed him and her other friends she left behind, she began to cry.

It wasn't as if she didn't love the friends she had where she was… she did love them, and she did her best to protect them time after time. Sometimes though, she pondered the thought of not being a soldier anymore. She wanted to be free of all the restrictions of her secret identity and the loneliness they all strangely felt, even though they were constantly together. She refolded the paper and placed it back into its place, envisioning a life free of responsibilities and monsters and demons.

Her pillows called for her return and she accepted the fact that she would probably cry herself to sleep again tonight. Laying down hurt as a result of the massive battle she and the others had just been through, so she sat up in bed, still wondering about the life she used to lead. She grabbed a random stuffed animal and held it close, pretending that she was holding him instead of cotton foam surrounded by fluffy fabric. As she sat there shuddering, she thought that if she had the chance, she just might trade her talents as a warrior for the prospect of love, even if love was ironically what she was fighting for and with. Sobs of regret engrossed her as she whispered his name. "Alan..." she said, and then listened to the raindrops fall.

The young girl with the sky-coloured eyes continued sitting on the bed, shaking slightly as she wept.

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_**End of Prologue  
**__General Info_

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**SUMMARY:** Teaser Line: _"In our world, HUMANS are the REAL monsters." Edward told the Senshi._

Sailor Moon tries to destroy an enemy - right as Ed tries to open the gate! Ed, Al, and Winry are then thrown into 20th century Tokyo during the fight between the Senshi and the Emperor Kazuhide (along with his many scantly-clad minions, of course). After meeting, the Senshi decide to help the three get home… but the more the Trio tries to find their way back to a world of alchemy and automail which makes sense, the less they want to leave the convenient world they've found where love seems to conquer all and evil is easily defined and henceforth defeated... especially the person who learns what it's like not to have to wait and worry for the ones she cares about.

**SPOILERS:** YES! For all the FMA manga up to chapter 56, and even though I switch around a crap-load of stuff in the SM story, I'm going to say there's spoilers up to SuperS, just to be safe.

**PAIRINGS:  
**Bunny x Mamoru / Serena x Darien (_duh!), _Edward x Winry, Haruka x Michiru (_hinted),_ Rini x Al? (_MAYBE? ...Stop making that face!)_

**GENRES:** All of them really. Varies by chapter, don't worry, I'll tell you. But, overall, I guess it's Fantasy, with Romance and Action / Adventure. (... Isn't that kinda what Fantasy IS? ...Eh).

**_DISCLAIMER_** _Gah, this is so stupid; why am I writing this? OF COURSE this stuff doesn't belong to me! If it did, then my writing wouldn't be FAN FICTION, it would be the real story! (..._Duh._ And while I did make up Kazuhide, he is kind of based on Queen Nephrenia (I think she's referred to as Nehelenia in the anime?). Heh... Anywho. Fullmetal Alchemist and Sailor Moon are by Hiromu Arakawa and Naoko Takeuchi, respectively._

_THE TITLE IS SEMI-TAKEN FROM A BOOK BY MICHAEL SHERMER. (Real Title: "The Science of GOOD and Evil"). But it encompasses everything that this story is about, so I gotta use it. I'm just saying here that the title is kind of unoriginal. I DON'T CLAIM IT! THIS IS A DISCLAIMER! Phew. _

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_**AUTHOR'S NOTE**:_

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No, I can't make Winry into a Sailor Scout.

_**Why I'm writing this:**  
Sailor Moon and Hagaren! So, you now know why I call myself "SenshiAlchemist"! Haha… but anyway… Alright… this may sound like a weird idea for a crossover, but I really wanted to examine how in FMA, although there are 'monsters' in terms of the homunculi, humans such as Shou Tucker are the real evil because they try to play God. In Sailor Moon, the monsters are just pure evil, which I find to be a little too convenient. Naoko Takeuchi also makes a point to have Sailor Moon's weaponry to be fuelled by love, and she doesn't have a whole lot of actual violence, just cool powers. While I respect the message, it's not as believable as Hiromu Arakawa's usage of Alchemy, (a weird mix of science and magic; Alchemy was actually the precursor to chemistry). Also, I like the questions about human nature that Hiromu Arakawa brings about. However, I also don't think Naoko-sensei gets enough credit for the questions SHE raises, such as the debate of which is better - to stay in a world of fantasy where nothing goes wrong, or remain in the harsh reality. _

_**How I'm writing this:  
**I use the Japanese names for all the Sailor Senshi, (scouts), except that Usagi will be called "Bunny." Sorry, but I really hate the name Usagi, because of the way it rolls of the tongue and because I always confuse it with Unagi for some reason... and I doubt anyone wants me to be constantly referring to Sailor Moon as an eel. -.-() Plus, the characters are how they are in the MANGA, (see below), and that's what she's called in the manga; and no, that's not just a translation of Usagi, it's a nickname. She's called that in the French AND English prints (trust me, I have both), so that's what I'm using. Please though, tell me if you get confused and why! I screwed with the whole timeline of SM for this fic, but I'll try to explain it as best I can. Also, I try to remain true to the manga of both FMA and SM, but there are a few parts of the anime that I need to make the story work… (from both FMA and SM), so forgive me if I change things to my own advantage. .-.-()_

_My author's notes will be at the end of the chapter, and they're marked with dash(-) and a number, if there are multiple ones in a chapter. Sorry if this is confusing, but I don't like seeing author's notes in the middle of the story so I figured this way would be better. I would make them little numbers at the top of the words like in um REAL books, but hah of course FFnet hates symbols for some reason so I can't. Shmeh._

_Oh and... MANGA characters! MANGA! I HATE how the anime makes Serena more ditzy and stupid than she is in the manga, and the FMA anime makes Winry so much meaner, same with Ed! I'm trying to stick with the ORIGINAL characters, so if I do something that screams anime and goes against the manga characterizations, please, tell me!_

_Typing: 'Thoughts' / flashback / special stuff/ _"Speaking."

**_THIS IS MY FIRST FIC!_ AH! I'm so excited; I can't believe I actually stopped being lazy and wrote something! Teehee. But anyway, on with the next chapter, (even though it's tiny because it used to be the prologue), so we can get to the real story!

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**Reviews are loved and always responded to.**

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	2. At the Start of Battle

**The Science of Love and Evil**  
_Chapter One - Intro_

**Setting**: 20th century Tokyo  
**Word Count**: 576

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sailor Moon. _

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_**At the Start of Battle...  
**(Introduction)_

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"_You wont get away this time, Kazuhide!" the petite blond soldier shouted. Her words were directed towards a withered old man, surrounded by several scantly clad beings that would have resembled women - were it not for their blue skin, three-fingered hands, and lack of noses. They also only had one eye each with which to see, but that didn't stop them from being destructive. _

"_Oh? And you think you and your pathetic little friends will stop me?" the old man replied. _

"_Yes, we WILL, because we are the Sailor Soldiers of love and justice, and we always triumph over evil!" the soldier retorted, words that she'd said so many times that she had memorized them. She too, was surrounded by her own allies – the Senshi, the warriors of the planets; Sailors Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Pluto, and Chibi-Moon. There was also a man in a Tuxedo and a top hat who stood by their side. _

"_But, alas, there are so many obstacles in your way! Cytosi **-(1),** disperse!" Kazuhide shouted, sending the many women-like beings upon the Senshi. _

"_Sailor Moon!" Venus shouted, as she and the rest of the Senshi kept the cytosi from reaching their leader. "Now's your chance!"_

_At this, Sailor Moon lifted up her weapon – a kaleidoscope-like wand with wings and a heart-shaped handle at the bottom. She pointed it towards the Emperor. "Hah!" he shouted in response. "You'll never get past my reflection barrier!" and with that, he snapped, and a giant mirror appeared_ _in front of him, right as Sailor Moon shouted "MOON _

_GORGEOUS_

_ME-DI-TATION!"_

_There was a great, bright, blinding light for a moment… _

_...And suddenly, the world went dark around the Senshi. No longer were they surrounded by the city landscape of concrete sidewalks and office buildings; now their surroundings similar to the backdrop of space. But here the stars were covered by clouds, and even nebulas were dim. The Senshi felt that they were falling for a few seconds before hitting what seemed to be solid ground. Though they were startled by the impact, they regained fighting stance as the cytosi came to attack them once more._

_But something wasn't right… when they had 'fallen,' so had the cytosi – and in confusion that came about from Sailor Moon's attack, only Sailor Mars **-(2)** had sensed that something else, something foreign, had fallen with them._

"_What happened!" Chibi Moon shouted. "Where are we?"_

"_The space between time… the space… between worlds…" Pluto fought to get out as she battled the cytosi that surrounded her. She had seen this place before… when she had stopped time… **-(3)**_

_But her words were lost as the Senshi concentrated on defeating the group of blue Cyclops that seemed to never dwindle in number. Attack-calls from all the Senshi could be heard as the battle continued. "The rebound from your attack, Sailor Moon!" Mercury shouted to their leader. "That must-" she was cut short for a moment as she pushed a cytos off of her. "-Have sent us here!" she concluded._

"_But something else is here too!" Mars shouted after sending a flaming arrow deep into a cytos. "I can sense it!"_

'Something else…_' Venus wondered as she fought her own cytosi. But as the group of blue cytosi dispersed throughout the space, so did the Senshi, and she lost the ability to ask aloud what Mars had meant._

'I wonder what that something else could be…'_ she wondered as the brawl continued._

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**_End of Chapter One_**

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**A/N  
****-(1) **This is just the word I made up for the blue women-things. I didn't want to call them 'cyclopses' so I came up with something that kind of sounded like the word 'cylcops' (at least I think I made it up… it isn't a real word is it?). "Cytos" is "Cytosi" is a singular sense.  
**-(2)** Mars is a psychic, remember? I thought it would make sense that she would be the only one to notice Ed, Al, and Winry's appearance.  
**-(3)** At the end of Sailor Moon S (during the fight against Mistress Nine/Hotaru), when Uranus and Neptune's helicopter is about to explode, Pluto stops time. She says that she then cannot be the gatekeeper any longer and must go… but where to? This made-up place of mine, apparently. (I'm going by the anime version of S).

**Yes, this chapter is mighty short. The next one is longer, and the one after that is longer than the one after this... anyway they wont be this short again! And hopefully not as strange sounding in dialogue **

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_**Reviews are loved and replied to! Always!**_

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	3. The Space Between Worlds

**The Science of Love and Evil**  
_Chapter Two _

**Genre: **Er… is confusion a genre? Uh... mostly action/general for now.  
**Word Count:** 1857  
**Summary: **Ed, Al, and Winry are separated when they fall, and wake up in the middle of the fight between the Senshi and the Cytosi.  
**Setting**: (See chapter title). Time-wise, this is occurring somewhere in between SuperS and Stars for Sailor Moon. They've already defeated Nephrenia, but they are now facing a new enemy – Emperor Kazuhide. For Fullmetal Alchemist, this is a divergence from chapter 56; so, Ed didn't go to visit Riza yet, rather, he and Al went to check on Winry. In the previous moments, Ed tried to open the gate while Winry and Al were there. And yes, I am aware that he wouldn't (willingly) do that with Winry there but heh she's nosy and... well it's kinda explained later. Anyway. He opened the gate, but at the same time Sailor Moon struck the mirror. (When the Senshi battle Nephrenia in SuperS, Sailor Moon strikes the mirror and they fall into this memory of their past lives. It's kind of the same thing that happens here, which is why I said that Kazuhide was sort-of based on Nephrenia). Since both actions generate a transition of worlds, both groups ended up… in the same world. Eh; I get more scientific later, (thank God for brainy-Ami, and Ed; they're my excuses to put some quantum-mechanics in this bitch!).

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Or FMA. Or their characters. Or their characters' cool powers, attacks, artificial limbs where applicable, etc, etc. And post this chapter there will be no more disclaimers. You all know quite well that I don't own either fandom, there have been three disclaimers already, and there's one on my profile so... yeah. You get it._

**_AND AGAIN, REMEMBER, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS TO ALL THE FMA MANGA (UP TO CHAPTER 56), THROUGHOUT THIS STORY. You've been warned._**

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_**The Space Between Worlds**_

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Edward was the first to regain consciousness after the fall. (Al of course, was conscious throughout the fall and the landing, but had remained dazed and, having landed near Winry, spent his time trying to wake her.) He was confused… and perplexed… What had happened? Where was he? He studied his surroundings as the slowly came into focus, but received no logical answers to his questions. In actuality, when he saw where he was, only _more_ questions came to his mind. He felt as if he was on solid ground, but looking down, he saw no distinction between what was below him and what was to his side… or above him… In fact, he couldn't quite tell where the "ground" began. All of his surroundings looked the same, but not like any place he had been before. Looking at what appeared to be the stars, he wondered if he was in the sky. But how was that possible? Ad if he indeed was in the sky, where was the moon? Everything was so dark… this didn't look like the gate at all. Where was Al's body? Where was that… man/thing who seemed to control the gate?

Whether he could have properly analysed his situation or not was a question not to be answered, however, as at that very moment Ed's thoughts were interrupted by a scream. Snapping out of his confused daze, he looked up at the scene before him instead of its background. What he saw in front of him didn't make sense either… several blue women were jumping over a couple of other women in white with coloured skirts and high heels. Upon a closer look, Ed realised that the blue "women" weren't actually women at all. Although they were mildly shaped like human beings, they had only three fingers on each hand… and only one eye…

'_Chimeras…?'_ Ed thought of them. But who were the women in the skirts? One had a red skirt with dark black hair down past her waist, and the other was very tall with a green skirt and brown hair. They were both struggling to push the numerous blue things off of them. Ed debated what he should do; while he didn't like the sight of the supposed chimeras, he also didn't know who the other women were… And were the blue things really chimeras anyway? _'Hmmm… what animal has blue skin…'_ he pondered to himself while simultaneously wondering what actions he should take in terms of the fight in front of him. The girls in the skirts did look outnumbered… it certainly didn't seem like a fair fight… But them, the tall girl had just gotten the upper hand on the supposed chimeras.

Ed guessed she was experienced in combat; she kicked with ease and apparently pretty hard – she seemed to send every blue 'chimera' (or whatever they were…) _flying_ off of her. She didn't falter once as she kicked away all of the chimeras around her and then crossed her arms over her chest and brought her legs close to her body. Then she closed her eyes and Ed noticed some sort of antenna extend from the band she was wearing on her head as she shouted "JUPITER… THUNDER… _CRASH!_" And suddenly, she thrust out what seemed to be a bolt of electricity straight at the chimeras she had kicked away from herself in the moments before.

'_What the hell…'_ Ed thought as he watched. How had she created electricity? He had seen fire created before… But she had created electricity… No, that wasn't right. _'Energy, like matter, can neither be created nor destroyed.'_ Ed recited in his head, a main point in the teachings of some book he had read long ago that had been burnt into his mind. Electric energy mostly came about from the transformation of kinetic or mechanical energy… There was no wind or sun here, (and this girl certainly didn't look like a windmill, for that matter), so it was obvious that she wasn't harvesting energy from either of those things… no, it had to be generated another way. But, how? There was no water here either, so it definitely wasn't hydroelectric power. But that meant that she had to obtain the energy of the electric shock from mechanical energy, and although she was tall, she was certainly smaller than any mechanical generator Ed had ever seen; and her movements were far too little for kinetic energy… The only way she could have obtained such energy had to be from…

His thoughts were interrupted once more as a shout came from the girl with the long black hair. Apparently during his contemplation of the possible sources of energy the girl with the brown hair was using, the raven-haired woman had gotten free from the chimeras that surrounded her. She clapped her hands together and extended her index fingers as she shouted "Mars fire… IGNITE!"

At that, a spiral of flame shot towards more of the chimeras, destroying them in a single breath. _'She claps… just like me…'_ Ed thought, although he had noticed that she held her hands differently. This however, again brought about the question that had previously been forming in his head.

'_These women…' _he thought. _'Could they be…_

…_Alchemists?'_

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Winry groaned somewhat as she awoke, her body being reminded of the uncomfortable position it had landed in by Al's shaking of it. "Winry, wake up! There's something strange happening here…" he said to her, still shaking her slightly in order to rouse her. "Up…" she started. "I'm up…"

But when Winry opened her eyes, she became very confused very quickly. "Al?" she asked the suit of armour now pushing her up. "Where… are we? This doesn't sound like the place Ed mentioned at all…" she trailed off, remembering their earlier conversation about the "gate."

* * *

"_It's kind of like… an eye." Ed had said to her. _

"_An eye?" she had asked._

"_Yeah… Gluttony had a fake one on his stomach _**–(1)**_… but when Ling and I were swallowed, I had to create the real doors to get out… and Al is there… well, part of him. His body. Remember, I said he was 'taken,' he didn't _die_?" At this, he had looked up at her, but then looked away in a strange daze, obviously becoming lost to his thoughts._

'_Well, fat lot of good THAT did me.' Winry had thought. She had begged and pleaded with him, used her wrench and everything, just to get him to finally tell her what was going on, what he had wanted to do. And this was what she got? She wondered whether or not she should be angry with herself for even trying, or for not understanding, or whether she should just be angry with him for giving her a really half-ass explanation. What the hell was he talking about anyway?_

"_He couldn't come with me though…" Ed trailed off. "It's weird, there's nothing there but doors, but then, everything is there… It's kind of cool, but really ugly at the same time… And that man, or whatever it is… the one who took my arm…"_

"_Edward…" Winry had started to say. "That… you're not making sense…" _

_She wanted so badly to understand… _

"_Hmm?" he had said, temporarily snapping out of his own little world to twist around and look at her again. _

_She had sighed then. Clearly, she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. Not now anyway. "Nothing…" she had said._

"_Oh…" he had replied, turning once more away from her, his eyes fixed on something only he could see. _

* * *

Winry began to sit up fully in order to look around for any doors or anything that could possibly resemble what Ed had been talking about, but the pain in her back had temporarily stalled that particular quest. The right side of her back was propped up by her toolbox, which she had landed on, and Al was currently removing her left arm from where it had folded itself underneath the curve of her back. "Ow…" she said. "Uh, thanks Al." she continued as he removed the toolbox from under her. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, my back hurts, but…" she then remembered what she had originally wanted to search for. But, looking around, she saw no doors at all… only a bleak picture of the sky.

The landscape was hauntingly beautiful. But then… the darkness had made it ugly and it conveyed a sense of loneliness. There were so many stars to light up the dark sky, and yet, they were covered by clouds. Only the very brightest of them glittered through the smoky mists. There was no moon, only vast, empty space. It was kind of cool, but still ugly. Could this really be what Ed had been mumbling about?

But, there weren't any doors that she could see… then again, she realised, her view was blocked by what appeared to be many people in the middle of a fight. Well… maybe not people… the beings were blue, and only had one eye… **-(2)** No, they definitely weren't human. But there was someone else there that she could see. It was a woman, who wore a dark blue skirt and white gloves. She had long blond hair tied up in a red bow, and a strange white shirt on with a red band at the bottom and a large red bow right above her chest. She also wore a red mask shaped like a pair of glasses. **–(3) **Winry was quickly amazed when the woman whipped out a gigantic chain, shouted "Venus Love-me chain… ENCIRCLE!" and lassoed a large group of the blue things which had formerly been trying to attack her. Once she had tied up the blue beings, Winry and Al heard "Pluto… dead SCREAM!" and saw a bright flash of light. When they could finally see again, the blue beings that had previously been in the woman's chain had vanished. "Great job, Pluto!" the woman shouted to someone with long dark hair and a tall sceptre in one hand.

"Are they…" Al started saying to himself. "Al?" Winry asked. "Are we… did you –" she stopped herself. _'Of course he didn't get his body back you idiot!'_ she scolded herself mentally, _'If he had he wouldn't be armour right now!'_ What a dumb question...

Al's mood changed a bit as he looked at her, knowing what she had been about to ask. He had his memories of what had happened to his body years ago, but they were new to him and even in memory they were painful. He pushed those thoughts away however, as there seemed to be more pertinent matters. "Winry, we should get out of here… I'm not sure what's going on, but it doesn't seem safe."

"But… where would we go?" Winry asked him. Nothing in this strange world seemed to make sense to either of them; it was dark, and lonely, and although there seemed to be eons of vast empty space ahead of and around them, they felt that there was nowhere to go.

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_**End of Chapter Two**_

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**A/N:**  
_Gah, why does that chapter seem so angsty? Ah well… Yes, and forgive me for the physics part at the beginning… I love science… hehe, let's just say that part was a mini tribute to my old physics teacher Dr. Creaven, who's getting married during the holiday! He's so cute and bashful about it too, when I told him congratulations he looked down and blushed and said "Thank you ma'am." Tehee! But anyway…_

**-(1):** Most of this stuff that he's rambling on about is from chapters 51-53 of the manga, except for the part about him determining that Al's body was taken and he hadn't really 'died'… that's in chapter 40-something. 44 Maybe? Eh, it's the one where he gets all embarrassed cause he asks Winry if she remembers when they fought over her hand in marriage:) Teehee, he was sweat-dropping and blushing all over the place!  
**-(2):** Ugh, I'm so sick of describing these stupid things! I guess you all must be too. Sorry, I just wanted to see it through everyone's eyes I guess… eh. I dunno.  
**-(3):** This is Sailor Venus in her Sailor V uniform! There's a reason for it, you'll see. It's all in the name of EdxWin… can't tell you more than that! It IS significant though, I didn't just put that in here so you would think it's Sailor Moon or anything.

_By the way… my Dad's Australian, my Mum's from Texas, and my 'stepmum' (my Dad hasn't married her but they have a kid… it's along story) is British - American. So… I have a pretty strange mix of spellings. Mostly I spell things the Aussie way, but the phrases I use are Americanised English because I now live in DC. So, sorry if something I write looks a little odd!_

**Anywho... sorry for the short chapters and such. The beginning ones are mostly explanatory… including my far-too-long author's notes... but… I need them to be that way for a reason! Sorry if it seemed kind of boring though, things will start moving along soon enough. (Once Winry whips out the wrench next chapter!) The longer this gets, less and less author's notes will appear.

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_**Reviews are helpful and always appreciated!**_

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	4. The Emporer's Demise

**The Science of Love and Evil  
**_Chapter Three_

**Genre:** Action/Adventure, General  
**Setting:** Same as before, in the 'space between worlds'  
**Word Count: **4465_  
_**Summary:** Ed, Al, and Winry debate over helping the Senshi;  
Sailor Moon rallies all of the Senshi together in order to destroy the evil Emperor.

* * *

_**The Emporer's Demise

* * *

**_

_So; the fightcontinued on between the cytosi and the Senshi. By this time, most of the cystosi had been destroyed from the numerous attacks of the soldiers of the planets. A few remained, however, and Emperor Kazuhide had sealed himself behind his reflective barriers, ensuring his protection. Sailor Moon had realised that her attacks alone could not penetrate Kazuhide's wall, but knew that the Senshi couldn't be gathered together while there were still cytosi to defeat. She herself had to battle quite a few after failing to break the Emperor's mirror. _

_The cytosi weren't very strong, and whole groups of them could be annihilated with one or two attacks from the Senshi. The problem lay in their sheer number. And while the Scouts had defeated most of the cytosi, they were growing weary from the constant assaults…_

"Mercury!" Sailor V shouted. "Don't… give… up!" she said, but without much strength behind her words. While she wanted to help Sailor Mercury fight off the cytosi that surrounded her, she was busy trying to trounce her own cytosi left and right. She, Pluto, and Mercury had been fighting in the same area towards more and more of the same monsters for what seemed like ages.

_But Sailor V and her fellow Senshi hadn't noticed that there were others watching them…_

"Al?" Winry asked. "What were you going to say before? You said 'Are they?' and then you trailed off. Who are these people?"

"Well…" he began. He wanted to push the issue of making them move away from whatever was happening, but it wasn't as if the blue things were attacking _them_… "I'm not sure, but it seems like they might be alchemists or something. I guess instead of a transmutation circle they need to say certain words… Still, either they're very strong or those things they're fighting with are really weak."

"And what are those things?" Winry edged him on.

"I dunno. I thought that they were chimeras or homunculi or something… but they don't look human enough to be homunculi,**-(1)** and they're completely obliterated to the point where nothing remains of them, so it doesn't seem like they're even living things." He stated. It was true – the cerulean creatures certainly had to have a strange makeup, because they weren't simply killed by the women, they were completely _destroyed._ Al knew that literally, that couldn't be the case – matter couldn't be created or destroyed. But it was hard to use any other word to describe that nothing remained of them after the women in the strange, skirted uniforms attacked them.

"Who do you think are the bad guys?"

"Dunno…" Al said. "It's rarely that simple. We need to get out of here though -WINRY!" he shouted as one of the azure beings rushed towards them. Just as he grabbed her shoulders to pull her away, the woman with the blond hair and mask whom they had been watching shouted "Venus Crescent Beam… SMASH!" and a ray of light shot from her fingertip into to centre of the blue creature. The creature seemed to vanish into thin air without even a scream, and after it had disappeared, Al and Winry and Sailor Venus crossed glances for the first time. All three people stared at each other in a moment of stunned silence, until the woman said to Al and Winry, "You're – You must be-" but her words were cut off as another navy monster grabbed her face from behind, leaping on her back.

Winry didn't really need to think twice. This woman had saved them from the thing that had tried to attack her and Al - "Hey!" she shouted at the creature while whipping out her favourite tool. "Leave that girl alone!" she said before hurling the wrench at its 'head.' The creature was knocked backwards, and the woman with the blond hair took its surprise to her advantage. In one movement, she turned round and kicked the creature down. She then quickly kissed her fingertips and said "Venus… love and beauty SHOCK!"

After the bright light of her attack had faded, Winry and Al realised yet another of the blue beings had been destroyed. Winry leapt on her toolbox, dragging it closer to her. "Winry, we shouldn't get involved! I don't think you should stay here… we should get you somewhere safe…" Al started. "Come on Al!" Winry said, ignoring his words. "You don't need a circle anymore right? Let's help these girls!" she said.

"Winry, we can't do much, there's nothing in this place for me to transmute, and you already used your wrench," he said. He had caved. She obviously wasn't going to move.

"Dummy..." she looked at him mischievously, and undid the lock on her toolbox. "I have much, much more where that came from."

* * *

On the other side of the milieu, Sailors Jupiter and Mars fought with their own cytosi, as Ed watched, confused. 

Well... if these women were alchemists, he thought he should probably help them. Upon further thought, he had determined that the 'chimeras' probably weren't chimeras at all. He had noticed that after the (supposed) alchemists attacked them, no fragment of their bodies remained. It was as if…

…As if they were made of air? That couldn't be right either. But it seemed as if that was the only answer to the question of their composition; after the strange women defeated them, they seemed to be degraded only to particles invisible to the human eye. Air seemed like a logical answer. It was composed of many simple elements… then again; those simple elements could make up many complicated substances. After all, water was only hydrogen and oxygen right? You could decompose it into hydrogen peroxide, or a diatomic hydrogen molecule such as the ones found in air… Hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen could make up several substances on their own, not counting carbon dioxide and all the other pollutants that could be present in the atmosphere here… But wait, Ed had no idea where they were, and what the chemical composition of its air might be…

His head was spinning. Why couldn't he just figure out what the weird blue things were! And why, with one strike, they simply seemed to evaporate?

Supporting himself by his metal arm, he pushed himself off the ground, thoughts of unbalanced equations and the possible intensive properties**-(2)** of the azure beings screaming through his head.

His movement however, had attracted attention. He had retreated so much into his world of thought that he at first failed to see the cytos charging towards him. It wasn't until the last possible moment that he snapped back to his senses, and dodged the blue being. When it came at him again, he clapped and created a blade out of his automail without even thinking; and in the same instant that the cytos jumped on him, it was cut down.

It disappeared before even hitting the ground.

"How- How did you-" Jupiter started to say to the short blonde boy who she had just seen destroy a cytos with a blade he had created from merely clapping his hands. Who was he? Clearly, not a cytos or a Sailor Soldier. So where had he gotten such power? Did he work for Kazuhide? ... No, he had destroyed a cytos, so he seemed to have the same enemy as the Senshi.

'_But is the enemy of my enemy really my friend?_' Jupiter wondered, looking at him.

"HaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" The shout from Sailor Mars rang out, pulling Ed and Jupiter out of their mini staring contest and interrupting Jupiter's question. "MARS…

BURNING…

MANDALA!" she screamed, destroying most of the remaining cytosi near her, Jupiter, and Edward. Jupiter ran to Mars' side, prepared to help her get rid of the rest of the cytosi around them. "Hey! Wait!" Ed yelled to her. Running after her, he stopped as the woman with the long black hair (who resembled a certain Colonel Ed knew, in alchemical ability), said "Mars FLAME SNIPER!" and shot a flaming arrow at him that missed by mere centimetres. "What the – " Ed said.

"Mars, what are you doing?" Jupiter said. "You! You were that other presence I sensed!" Mars shouted at Edward. "Mars, wait-" Jupiter began, but her words were cut off by the cytos that had implanted itself on her back. "Aagh!" she said, and Mars and Ed rushed to her. "Get away!" Mars shouted at Ed as they ran to Jupiter. "Are you guys alchemists?" Ed shouted back, ignoring her protests at his presence. He had had experience with people objecting to his presence after learning he was a state alchemist, but after seeing definite signs that these girls were alchemists themselves, he was a bit confused why they didn't want him there; and he thought that perhaps if they found common grounds in terms of alchemy, that they would be a little less hostile and he could figure out from them what the hell was going on.

As they reached Jupiter at the same time, both hesitated in their actions. They both didn't want to hurt the girl in the process of destroying the monster that was hurting her. The remaining cytosi took advantage of their moment of indecision as they rushed at Mars and Edward. Before the blue creatures could reach Sailor Mars, however, Ed had struck them down with the swift movement of his bladed automail arm.

He neglected, though, to see the cytosi that had been rushing at _him_.

Three of them jumped on him at once, forcing him down to the ground. Although their weight was relatively light, (leading Ed to once again question the components of their composition), he seemed to lose the strength needed to push them off. It was as if they were draining him of energy simply by touching him…

Sailor Mars was very confused. While she would have probably debated whether to help the blond boy or not, she knew that she needed to get to Jupiter. The last of the cytosi near them seemed to be on Jupiter…

Or so she had thought. Before several more of the monsters attacked _her_. '_HOW MANY OF THESE STUPID THINGS ARE THERE_!' she thought as she tried to fight them off of herself.

* * *

Venus had meant to thank the blond girl in the black skirt and green top, but she had other business to attend to, such as the cytosi attacking Sailor Mercury. Really, they didn't have much to attack with, there were just so many of them, and they kept trying to pull the Senshi down… 

Venus rushed over to Mercury's side, or rather, to the side of the massive group of cytosi that had covered her completely. She didn't know what to do; if she attacked the cytosi there was the chance that she would end up attacking Mercury as well, and that was NOT an option. "PLUTO!" She screamed for her friend, trying to rip the cytosi off of Sailor Mercury. "Saturn! Uranus! Neptune!" She screamed, the names of all the Senshi she knew were nearer to her than the others. No one seemed to come! She knew Mars and Jupiter were far away from her, along with Tuxedo Mask and Chibi Moon… but where were the others?

And where was Sailor Moon, for that matter?

No time to wonder… she had to help Sailor Mercury! Frantically she tried to pull the cytosi off of her fellow soldier, but to almost no avail. The ones she _did_ pull off only came to attack _her_, and there were so many, she tried to use her crescent beam every time she could, she tried to use her chain, but suddenly they were all over her… Suddenly… the world began… to slow… her eyes felt heavy… she felt… so weak… Why… why was she so tired all of a sudden? She was very much inclined to close her eyes, to drift out of consciousness until-

"Hah!" Winry said as she hurled a screwdriver at a cytos. Like before, the cytos was distracted, but didn't evaporate. Winry continued to throw tools at the cerulean monsters but became frustrated when it seemed to do so little. "Wait Winry-" Al began.

"Hey! Don't tell me to quit now!" She shouted back, although she wanted to give up, as it seemed so pointless. Al took the handful of tools from her and she dropped her shoulders. "No Winry- just… wait." He said. But before he could do what he had been planning, before he could transmute the tools into one larger weapon, a few of the cytosi had broken off from Sailor Venus and had begun to tackle Al and Winry. Apparently, although their orders were to attack the Senshi, they had decided to recognise Winry and Al as enemies as well.

The tool-throwing and the few cytosi that leaped off of Sailor Venus to attack Al and Winry were just enough, however, to allow Venus to barely maintain consciousness. She kicked as hard as she could, and tried to throw the cytosi off of her… but she was so weak… she had wanted to help Winry and Al, but she just couldn't seem to get away; she couldn't even help Sailor Mercury… and the world was turning dark…

* * *

While Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury along with Winry, Al, and Ed were being smothered by the blue beings, another important person was fighting them off of herself with the help of the remaining Senshi. The outer Senshi, along with Chibi Moon and Tuxedo Mask, were busy trying to free Sailor Moon from the cytosi that had surrounded her after her attack against Kazuhide had failed. They had succeeded in destroying most of them with their various attacks; but as they got closer and closer to Sailor Moon they were forced to use physical force to simply rip the cytosi away from their leader. The six people pulled as hard as they could, as Sailor Moon fought as hard as she could, in order to rid her of the azure monsters.

Then, suddenly, in the midst of their struggle, there was a moment where none of the blue beings were touching her. Though she was weak, Sailor Moon had just enough strength left to lift up her sceptre and shout an attack focused entirely on the cytosi. "Moon… Gorgeous… MEDITATION!" she yelled, sending her assault out in all directions at Kazuhide's minions. A bright pink light encircled the area where all the Senshi and Ed, Al, and Winry were fighting with the cytosi. Sailor Moon was reminded of the time when she had done a similar thing with the creatures Mistress Nine and Doctor Tomoe had sent out to meet them before the awful events that surrounded Sailor Saturn's rebirth had unfolded. She only prayed, as she used most of her strength to defeat the numerous cytosi, that they did not regenerate as those monsters had.

* * *

Ed blinked as the light from Sailor Moon's attack faded. It suddenly appeared that all the cytosi **–(3) **had gone. He was stiff from the attacks of the fiends, but forced himself up. Sailors Mars and Jupiter, surprised at the immediate cessation of the cytosi assault, slowly did the same.

"You…" Mars started as she got up. "Why didn't she destroy you too?" she said, mentally preparing herself to take this new, supposed evil on.

"Mars! Wait…" Jupiter started, though she was weak from the occurrences of the previous moments. "It's the same as before, you just answered your own question – remember Pharaoh 90? And those red things we contained? Moon did the same thing then… when she only destroyed the red monsters…"

Mars, hearing this and also remembering that Ed had helped her when the cytosi had come to attack her, knew that Jupiter was right. She looked at Jupiter in anger for a slight moment, before some of Jupiter's words sunk in fully, reminding her of another important matter. Her eyes widened. "Sailor Moon… " she said, as Jupiter's eyes also widened in response. Without a second's hesitation, they rushed off towards their leader, who was now visible given that they cytosi had all vanished. They had to get to her!

Ed sighed as he watched them run off, wondering whether he'd ever figure out what the hell had just occurred, who the hell "Sailor Moon" was, and what the hell he should do next.

"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask shouted, as she fell to her knees. The attack had left her rather damaged, and he rushed to her side to hold her up. She looked at him in appreciation, not yet finding strength to speak as all of her fellow Senshi came to surround her. A harsh, bitter and wheezy sounding laugh ironically echoed loudly all around them. The Senshi looked up and around them, for the first time taking a look at their surroundings.

It was odd that while the dimmed stars seemed to go on forever, the Senshi also seemed to have been fighting in a relatively small enclosure. Al and Winry noticed this too as they saw Ed, and began to make their way to him. The Senshi who hadn't noticed Ed, Al and Winry before were surprised at their presence, but before anyone could say anything, Sailor Moon was already pushing herself to her feet.

"Kazuhide…" she said, the scouts redirecting all of their attention on her. "Sailor Moon! Don't! You're not strong enough…" Chibi Moon started, worried about her future mother.

"_And what would you like now?"_ The old voice croaked. Battered and bruised, the Senshi stared at the wall of mirrors that shook whenever the Emperor spoke. "Don't act like your so strong, Kazuhide!" Mars shouted at the reflective barricade.

"We fought someone almost exactly like you before, who was much tougher, and we _still_ won!" Venus joined in.

"Yeah! Your minions don't even regenerate themselves! Now they're ALL gone, and you have nothing left!" Mars continued. "Stop hiding from behind your stupid mirror and come out and FACE us!"

"Kazuhide…" Sailor Moon forced out. "We want… to offer you peace… but if you can't accept, we will have to destroy you." She said.

"_PEACE?"_ The weak voice boomed_. "There will be no peace except under my rule! Peace will only come in death - death of your sorry race and their time on Earth."_

At his words, the 'ground' shook, and the Senshi fought to regain their balance.

"Very well…" Sailor Moon whispered sadly, and held her hands up to her chest.

"Princess! Don't! You don't have enough energy left! YOU'LL DIE!" Venus shouted.

"It's just like before." she replied. Her eyes closed for a few moments and the air became still. The Senshi had seen this before, and yet somehow, they were still wondering what was going to happen next... But then Sailor Moon broke the pause that had resulted from her actions, and in the strongest and most determined whisper - one that sent a chill to the bones of all who heard - she spoke:

"**_Break the glass_**."

_Silence..._

"You always say it will be okay, that you can use it…" Mercury began meekly. She too had very little energy left, and had barely gotten over to Sailor Moon after the cytosi had been destroyed. "But then… But then you're hurt!" She said, tears stinging her eyes.

_A pause..._

Sailor Moon looked at her warmly. "It will be okay, Mercury. Please… Break the glass!" she told her fellow soldiers. Fighting to stand straight, they all attacked the wall.

"...Mars Flame SNIPER!"

"Venus Love and Beauty SHOCK!"

"Chronus TYPHOON!"

_Slowly, small cracks began to appear in the glass. _

"Uranus World SHAKING!"

"Deep SUBMERGE!"

"Jupiter Oak EVOLUTION!"

"Mercury Aqua Mirage!"

"…What should we do?" Winry asked Ed and Al as they watched the Senshi try to break the mirror. "I want to help them…" she trailed off. "Winry-" Al began. "Where are the tools we had earlier?" he asked her. She looked around, they had been scattered around near where her and Al had previously been. Running back, she picked up a few of them (while Ed clapped to reduce his automail to its original form), and brought them back to Ed and Al. "Throw them at the mirror?" She asked Al. "Yes," he said, "But wait first." And with that, he took the tools from her and transmuted them into a metal rod larger and thicker than the individual tools had been. This was all becoming increasingly difficult, as the floor beneath them continued to shake. Several times while Winry had gone to pick up the tools and before he had the chance to transmute, all three of them had fallen down.

"Wow…" Winry exclaimed as he finished. Had Ed not already been planning to break the mirror, had he not already been reviewing the composition of glass in his head so as to properly break it apart, he might have been jealous of the fact that his brother didn't need a circle anymore as well. He also might have gotten satisfaction in the fact that Winry's mood towards Al changed slightly from praise to anger as she said "You better change those back later." Then again, perhaps Ed would have been bothered at the fact that she cared so much about her tools over other… important things…

(Ed was distracted however, and heard none of her words).

Al handed the rod to Winry. "What are you guys waiting for?" Ed asked, impatient. "Are we going to help them or not?" At that, another shake of the floor threw them to their knees.

"I sure hope they'll help us get out of this place if we do…" Al said, getting up.

"Yeah." Ed agreed, struggling to head towards the mirror as the quaking of the 'ground' raged on.

When they reached the mirror, the cracks had widened and deepened, but it didn't seem to be enough to break the mirror entirely. "Unh!" Winry grunted as she threw the new transmuted tool at the mirror next to the one Ed was standing in front of. Ed jumped slightly, partially from the shockwaves that shook the 'ground' and partially from the shock of seeing the glass crack so suddenly from the impact of Winry's transmuted tool. In wondering how she could have done that, he became annoyingly reminded that she had had practise throwing large metal objects.

At his head.

Another shock wave forced his thoughts back to the mirror in front of him. '_Right…' _he thought, and clapped his hands together. He placed them on the mirror, and saw it crack in a million places, right as Al came up to the mirror on his other side and punched it, _hard_. It cracked too.

"Pink Sugar Heart ATTACK!" Chibi Moon shouted.

"Silence Glaive SURPRISE!" **–(4)**

"Tuxedo a la Smoking Bomber!" **–(5)**

"Ugh! I'll take care of this the old-fashioned way…" Jupiter said, kicking the glass. "Sailor V Kick!" Venus followed suit.

"WAIT!" Mars shouted. "This isn't doing enough! We need to do it together!"

...As her words began to sink in to the Senshi's minds, slowly, _slowly_ they all ceased their kicking and punching of the mirror and turned to look at each other. Barely, because of the ground's constant shivers, they moved closer to one another. It was time for them to fight as one, as a team, in the way that always triumphed. And so when they finally reached each other, when they finally joined hands, readily they began calling upon the deepest reserves of their energy, letting the words which wanted to come forth do as they wished.

"SAILOR…" They started in unison.

"PLANET…" _Invisible winds began to tear through the world that was now falling apart..._

"_ATTACK_!"

When their attack hit the mirror, the cracks joined together. "Kazuhide is part of this mirror and the world we're in!" Sailor Moon shouted to her fellow Warriors above the howling winds. She needed only to focus on what she wanted to do, only to feel the bond with her fellow Senshi in order to call on strength she rarely needed to use, in order to bring out the grail. "We must destroy it entirely. All of you, I need your help!" she shouted. At that same moment, Tuxedo Mask hurled a rose directly into the centre of the mirror's fracture. The 'ground' shook harder than ever before, and the scenery around them changed. Suddenly, the dark black of the sky became green and fragmented, the and the few stars visible were blurred. Ed, Al and Winry became dizzy, and fell to their knees, their heads spinning. The Senshi closed their eyes and focused their thoughts on the Holy Grail glowing steadily in Sailor Moon's hands.

"Silver Crystal Power!"

_The 'ground' continued to shake, broken fragments of the shattered glass fell off from the mirror, and smashed into a million more pieces when they hit the invisible line between the stars and the fake reality of the reflective world._

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

_Ed, Al and Winry watched in amazement as the Senshi were surrounded by light._

"Mars Crystal Power!"

_The light from their surroundings flickered around them as Kazuhide's world began to die._

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

_Sailor Moon flinched slightly, she could feel her energy draining…._

"Venus CRYSTAL POWER!"

_The winds wailed even louder, but somehow, the Senshi's shouts were heard over it._

"PLUTO CRYSTAL POWER!"

_All the Senshi now could feel their energy going into the grail, into the symbol of their unity…_

"URANUS CRYSTAL POWER!"

_The world was becoming a dizzy swirl of rushing stars and nebulas…_

"NEPTUNE CRYSTAL POWER!"

_One by one, the colours of the individual Senshi filtered through the light surrounding Sailor Moon and the Grail._

"SATURN CRYSTAL POWER!"

_It was beautiful, not just because it was the only source of light in complete destruction, but because no colours overtook another; there was no line one could draw separating one colour from another. At that very moment many different people became truly together as one._

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

_The colours were blended together around Sailor Moon, a true symbol of the unity between the Senshi. The light that shone from it was greater than any star or sun._

"Earth's Golden crystal within me…" Tuxedo Mask said. "Give power to Serenity…"

_With that, it was complete._

"COSMIC MOON _POWER!" _Sailor Moon shouted, and the Holy Grail burned with light that extended outwards to engulf everything in Kazuhide's world. Cracks resemblant of those in the mirror formed in the 'sky', in the sights of the stars themselves, and the world became encased in blinding luminosity.

The ground shook for a final time before the world broke apart entirely, shattering like glass, like crystal; and then suddenly... it began to fade. Ed, Al, Winry, the Senshi, and Tuxedo Mask watched as their landscape of dark starry mists slowly ebbed away to that of the city, and the rain began coming down in sheets.

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_**End of Chapter Three

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**A/N:  
-(1):** Yes, I am aware that homunculi aren't human! And you all know that _Al_ knows that too. And of course, they can take other forms… yes yes, we all know, but Winry doesn't, and so that's how Al explains it to her for the time being.  
**-(2):** Intensive properties are ones that are usually used to identify a substance, such as melting point or density. So, Ed wonders what they are as they would help identify whatever substance the cytosi are made out of. (_Oh IB Chemistry, I love you, and yet, you take over my life…)  
**-(3):**_Although this is from a third-person POV, I do like to stay closer to the head of one character over the other. However, even though Ed doesn't know what these things are called, I got really really sick of calling them "blue beings" and as you can see in the previous part of the story, where it's Winry AND Venus–centric, I had to call them cytosi the whole time. So… yeah. Shmeh. Also, like I just said, almost the same thing happened at the end of S, so don't tell me she can't do this! Especially when she's more powerful now, as eternal Sailor Moon, than she was in S!  
**-(4)**: In the manga, that attack doesn't constitute her own destruction.  
**-(5):** Damn, what a sexy move!

_**A NOTE ABOUT ANIME vs. MANGA:  
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST:  
**This is ALL based on the MANGA, with ONE exception – The incidents with Shou Tucker and Barry the Chopper will be based on the anime, at least as far as Winry getting kidnapped. Theanime version ofthe Shou Tucker incidentgives Ed a better connection to Nina and more of a reason to be upset, and makes more sense, I think. Winry DID get kidnapped by Barry in this, as they will mention later, (and yes, they took Winry shopping too), but after his capture that's about it. That is the ONLY digression from the manga in this story. The part where Al wonders if Ed is really his brother will follow the manga, And while Scar doesn't kill Tucker, everything else about him is the same as the manga as well. Woot.  
_

_**SAILOR MOON:**  
It's kind of a mix of the anime and the manga. Ai ya, where to start... Well, first of all, while I'd like to base their attacks solely on the manga, I describe them as they happen in the anime. Usually, I just combine a few of the calls; like "Love-me chain" and "Love chain encircle" are just combined to "Love-me chain, ENCIRCLE!" But I try to keep them more manga related in call (although sometimes I forget). _

_Alright… For the first SM series, I'm going by a combination of the manga and anime. So basically, like in the manga, Princess Serenity kills herself after seeing Endymion die. But, at the end of the Silver Millennium, I follow the anime, when Queen Serenity seals them all inside the crystal and sends them to Earth. _

_For SMR, I'm following also a mix of the anime and manga. But it's hard to explain, so I'll just basically say that most of it's anime until the end when Sailor Moon faces the Wiseman, he turns into the PLANET Nemesis and she destroys him in the way she does in the manga (except that Rini doesn't help her because... she displeases me...). But but but everything about them getting to Crystal Tokyo and stuff is anime related, I mention that later. The R movie has happened._

_SMS – THIS WILL BE BASED ON THE ANIME VERSION! As far as the S movie goes, that story HASN'T happened yet. You'll see more of what I mean in my future author's notes. _

_And the Super S series is ALL MANGA BASED. (Gah, I didn't even finish that season it made me too angry - where the hell was Saturn? Why didn't they put in the flashbacks with Queen Serenity?). The SuperS movie HAS NOT happened yet either, and as I said before, we are sometime in between SuperS and Stars. Annnnnnnd that's about it, I think...

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_**Reviews are LOVE

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	5. A Worldly Debate I

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Okay so... please don't kill me if you just got this chapter alert! It is the same chapter as before, except edited better. The reason it's pushed forward is... because there's a new prologue and it's better than the old one! YAY! So... you read, and don't kill me, yes? 0: D The next chapter will hopefully be out soon!

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**The Science of Love and Evil  
**_Chapter Four _

**Genre:** er… Scifi? Sort of? I don't know. Gah. A lot o' angst.  
**Setting:** 20th Century Tokyo  
**Word Count: **6668  
**Summary: **Ed, Al, Winry and the Senshi have a LOT to sort out**. **

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **__Yeah so… I just re-watched S, and realised that I totally copied the cytosi after those things that Uranus and Neptune battle after Pluto stops time. Ugh. Man... Well, more props to Naoko then. :- /_

**And by the way, I'm not going into the 'Serpent's Prayer' / 'The Serpent that Devour's its Own Tail' stuff from FMA at ALL. That's… what makes FMA so much different and so much more serious than SM, and… I don't know. This is just for fun! I know it's a pretty ridiculous plot. As much as I love going into the science of things and delving into the basis of human nature, FMA does that on it's own so I need to attempt, (not that I'm anything like the great Arakawa-sensei), to do it another way which is... less deep because that's how SM is. There's science, but overall it's light-hearted. So, have fun with the character's interactions! I am!**

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A Worldly Debate  
_Part One

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_

Sailor Moon's uniform quickly faded to that of her school's as she again fell to her knees. "Bunny!" Venus shouted, running to support her. The rest of the Senshi rushed forward as well; all of them had seen how drained she always became after using the crystal, and all of them were worried. Venus didn't take the time to de-morph, and neither did most of the Senshi as they rushed to Bunny's side. Mars and Jupiter, having been farthest away, were the last to arrive. While Jupiter was busy trying to see through the crowd of Sailor Soldiers to check on their leader, Mars was sneaking angry glances back at the new trio who had somehow come into the rebound from Sailor Moon's attack on Kazuhide along with the Senshi. She wanted to help Bunny, but at the same time, she didn't know who these people were and wondered why no one else was worrying about the same thing.

Venus kneeled down in order to hold the small blonde as she collapsed into Venus' arms. "Bunny… " Venus started. Bunny had tears streaming down her face, over her recently gained scrapes and bruises. Although Venus knew that she was obviously injured and tired, as they all were, the obnoxiously worded question surrounding Bunny's crying slipped out anyway. "What's wrong?" she said.

She inhaled sharply and held her hands to her eyes. This wasn't her usual cry-baby antic; these were serious tears that wrenched her entire body with sadness. They were as heavy as the rain that currently poured down on her and the other Senshi, and she couldn't control them in the least. "It makes…." she started shakily. "It makes me miss the Queen." she said, and dug her head into Venus's shoulder. All the surrounding Senshi and Tuxedo Mask sighed with their own memory of the Queen, and their stances relaxed some. They all knew how hard it was to face the horrible past time and again. It was difficult to imagine Mamoru, or rather, Endymion, dying; his generals betraying their loved ones (the inner Senshi), Serena stabbing herself through the heart, and the entire Silver Millennium coming to an end. The most difficult thing, however, was facing the fact that those things didn't have to be _imagined_, as they had all really happened.

Sailor V's lip trembled. She hated seeing her leader cry, and to see her Princess in so much pain, when she felt so much like it was all her fault. She had been the leader of the Scouts that protected the Princess… and they had failed. True, her lover had betrayed her and she had been lost, and she had died before Prince Endymion had fallen protecting Princess Serenity, and therefore before Serenity had committed suicide… but her heart ached with the fact that she had felt so weak as to die without protecting her Princess. She had let her own foolish state at loosing Malachite overtake her; she had become frail and fragile and pathetic, and she had let herself die at his unmerciful and corrupted touch. **–(1) **She felt her breath catch in her throat as she remembered that once again, she had failed her Princess when she had first reappeared. Tuxedo Mask had been taken, ironically, by Venus's very own former lover, (and Prince Endymion's former general), and all she could do was tell Serenity to stay back and do nothing. And before the final battle with Queen Beryl, she had perished in her own attack, leaving Sailor Moon and Mars alone in the freezing cold.

And of course, just now, hadn't she once again failed to protect Bunny from the cytosi? Hadn't she even failed to protect Mercury? Hadn't she almost become unconscious and lost the fight all together?

So many times she had died before being able to help Serenity, or had failed to stop her tears, and she hated it. She was supposed to be the successor after Princess Serenity; she was supposed to be strong and trustworthy and brave and dependable! But so many times she felt that she wasn't any of those things, and every time she saw her Princess weeping she was reminded of that feeling of hopelessness.

With that feeling, she clutched Bunny tighter to her. For now, she felt that it was all she could do.

The rain was pouring heavier by the minute, but none of the Senshi moved except to sit down. Of them, besides Bunny, Mercury was the most hurt, having been attacked by the greatest amount of cytosi. She wanted to inform everyone that she thought she had discovered what it was about the cytosi that made them so powerful while at the same time being so weak, but didn't know the appropriate time to speak up. She was also very weak herself, and was content for the time being to lie in the wet grass by the sidewalk, while the rest of the Senshi surrounded Bunny in the former building they had fought in, before being transported to the other world, (or whatever that place had been). Mercury did speculate herself on what that setting was, whether it was really the rebound from Sailor Moon's attack or Kazuhide's creation… or perhaps something else. She hoped that by the time everyone had calmed down enough – and rested up enough to be able to move to a safe, dry place – that she would have thought up a satisfactory answer to the questions surrounding their previous location.

It wasn't that she didn't care about Bunny, or that she wasn't worried about her, but she was too enervated to push herself up, and she doubted she could get through the crowd of girls surrounding her. After all, there was nothing that Mercury could do right now that wasn't already being done for Bunny; and it had become her job to take the position of the analyst regarding… unexplained Sailor Scout matters, such as the cytosi and the world they had just been in.

They weren't in that world anymore, though. Kazuhide and the cytosi were all gone, leaving the Senshi, Tuxedo Mask, and Ed, Al, and Winry (which still weren't noticed by anybody but a very angry Mars), in 20th century Tokyo. Bunny and most of the Senshi were currently in the ruins of the building where the portal to Kazuhide's base had been. It had been badly damaged in the Senshi's efforts to destroy Kazuhide before he had sent them to the 'space between worlds'. Now, the majority of the Scouts sat or stood in the rubble of concrete supports and broken glass from the structure's windows. It _had_ been an office building of some kind… Now it resembled nothing of the sort.

The building had been right next to the park that they inner scouts were oh-so familiar with. That particular park was the place they had morphed in order to transport themselves to the moon, when they had gone into space for the first time to regain memories of their past lives. It was also the park where Bunny had originally promised to return Mamoru's pocket watch to him before they had realised each other's alternate identities. It was a quaint little park, but it didn't look as inviting with the torrent of rain coming down, turning the sloped sidewalks into miniature rivers and overly saturating the grass. The whole scene, although familiar to the Senshi, was almost as un-inviting as the 'space between worlds' had been. It was wet, cold, and windy; and everything had been utterly devastated. None of them preferred to go back to the 'space between worlds' however… and all of them were too tired to move anywhere else other than the place they were now.

...As were Ed, Al and Winry. Of course Al wasn't physically tired, he couldn't be, but they were all rattled by the world's destruction in the previous moments, and tired from the cytosi. They also had **_no_** idea where they were in the least, and so they did nothing but sit and wait to be able to ask the Senshi where they were and what was going on. Ed was getting rather creeped out by Mars's angry stares… but didn't want to upset her anymore than she apparently already was at his presence, so he said and did nothing. Winry was even too tired to remember to get out the first-aid kit she had in her toolbox at all times.**-(2) **Alphonse didn't want to do anything his brother wasn't doing… and since his brother wasn't doing anything, he didn't do anything either. There were exchanges of 'Are you okay?'s and 'Fine's between the three, but not much else was said. All three of them were questioning what had happened and what they had done, and why they had done it, but chose to stay silent as the shower of water droplets fell upon them. The Senshi were much the same as they waited for strength to come back to them. Meanwhile, Venus was still holding Bunny, and most of the Scouts were still standing or sitting by her side.

"Did you… see another vision after your attack?" V asked in a wobbly voice, trying to hold back guilty tears of her own. Last time, when they had battled Nephrenia, something similar had happened in that they had gotten sucked into the reflection of Sailor Moon's attack on Nephrenia's mirror. After they had felt like they were falling for a short period, they had all ended up in the memory of Nephrenia's first appearance in the Moon Kingdom. That time had been particularly hard for Bunny, as Nephrenia had tried to convince Sailor Moon that _she_ was the reason the Silver Millennium had ended.

...And when the nightmare of the Dead Moon was ending, before Helios had woken up, Bunny had once again recalled a memory of the Queen. Bunny had said, from that memory, that she had remembered her mission as a Sailor Soldier - to '_keep the star in her heard shining strong in order to defeat the dark and evil souls.'_ She had told them all that they each possessed a star within their hearts, and that it shown to give them the power they needed to protect the ones they loved. Venus hoped that, if such a thing was true, she had a star within her, in order to protect Bunny and her fellow Senshi far better than she previously had.

Bunny didn't answer her question, however, so she continued. "Is that… why you used 'Cosmic Moon Power' instead of something else?" Venus asked hesitantly.

...Was that something she could mention at this moment?

In awaiting her answer, the other Senhi failed to take notice of the three small figures moving towards them. In fact, the only person who _had_ noticed the beings, probably because of what they were, wasn't even one of the Soldiers at all. But regardless of his recognition, the three figures continued to make their way to the Senshi who was about to speak.

"Yeah…" Bunny finally began. "I mean… I didn't use the sceptre, I dropped it and just used the crystal on it's own… and I was already thinking of her… and… yeah." She sniffed. "I guess that's just instinct." She finished as the figures moved past the Trio's point - of - view.

Al gasped slightly. It was in joy, but Winry took it to mean something else. "Al?" she asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing's _wrong_." he started exuberantly. "Look! KITTIES!"

' Uggggggghhhhhhhhhhh...' Ed groaned inwardly. Oh no, not _this_ again. Al plus newly discovered kitties equalled hours of Ed convincing him that they didn't have time to take care of a cat. He looked in the direction Al was pointing in though, and sure enough, there were three cats, one black, one white, and one grey, headed toward the centre of the group in front of them. Unbeknownst to Winry and the brothers, their names were Luna, Artemis, and Diana.

Ed groaned inwardly. Oh no, not again. Al plus newly discovered kitties equalled hours of Ed convincing him that they didn't have time to take care of a cat. He looked in the direction Al was pointing in though, and sure enough, there were three cats, one black, one white, and one grey, headed toward the centre of the group in front of them. Unbeknownst to Winry and the brothers, their names were Luna, Artemis, and Diana. 

The three cats rushed towards Serena and the other Senshi. Diana jumped on top of Chibi-Moon shouting "Small Lady!" as she always did, while Luna and Artemis trotted up to Bunny and Venus and sat down, panting.

"Luna? Artemis?" Venus said.

"Hey." Luna started, unable to get many words out while gasping for air. "We couldn't approach you…" she said, taking another deep breath. "For the longest time…"

"What do you mean?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"Well… it was much like the time you fought with Pharaoh 90. The building you were in was encompassed by a barrier of some kind after you entered it..." Luna replied. "We couldn't get in, so we waited for the barrier to disappear." Artemis finished for her.

That was certainly very odd. The girls had felt that perhaps they were transported into another world… but had they really just been inside the building, or rather, the barrier?

"Do you think…" Venus started. "That the inside the barrier was the world we were in then? I mean, that it was an illusion of some kind?"

"But I have been there before," Pluto said. "And there was a great power shift after it was destroyed - didn't anyone else sense it?"

"Well maybe that was just because Kazuhide was destroyed too... Maybe he _created_ the world?" Venus responded. Before, it seemed as if they had fallen into Sailor Moon's attack like the time they battled Nephrenia… but then, they hadn't fallen into some memory of the past, like they had that time. Could the world have been something else?

"You mean it was all a fake?" Bunny asked shakily, but without tears, looking up at Sailor V. By now she had calmed down considerably, and Mars was about to pop a blood vessel and obliterate everything in a fiery attack if the others didn't wake up and notice Ed, Al, and Winry.

"I don't know, Bunny-chan **–"**

"_DOES ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THAT WE AREN'T THE ONLY ONE'S HERE?"_ Mars shouted, cutting Venus off. The Senshi turned to stare at her, as she pointed an irritated finger at the two teenagers and the suit of armour sitting not far from where they were. It wasn't that Mars didn't care about the situation regarding Kazuhide, but _he_ was dead, and these people, or things, (or whoever they were), were still alive. Mars was actually acting so frighteningly because she was worried for everyone's safety... But, had she been calm and collected, _perhaps_ she would have noticed that the three people she was extending her arm towards weren't harming anything and were just as banged up by the Senshi.

Be that as it may, she _wasn't_ the least bit calm or collected, and continued to scare the crap out of Ed, Winry, and Al. What was _wrong _with this crazy woman? They hadn't done anything!

Venus spoke before anyone else could. "Mars, calm down," she said, transferring Bunny into Darien's arms. She got up slowly and sighed, making a futile attempt to brush the dirt out from her skirt, even though it was already almost soaked through so that any dirt that had been on it was either mudlike or washed away. The Senshi turned back to face her as she stood, putting her hand to her head in frustration. By this time, Winry and the Elric brothers were feeling very awkward and out of place… in truth, they had felt that the whole time, but the feeling was exaggerated from having the group of women in the strange short skirts stare at them moments before.

"BUT WHAT IF-"

"Mars!" Jupiter shouted back. "**Stop!**" she yelled. Venus was, after all, clearly planning to speak. She was their leader, under Sailor Moon **–(2),** and she was trying to lead them now. Jupiter was also alarmed by Mars's rash actions considering the fact that she herself didn't view these people as evil at all. If they had been, wouldn't Sailor Moon have destroyed them along with the cytosi? And hadn't she seen the blond boy strike down a cytos?

"I saw you earlier…" Jupiter started, turning towards Edward. "Who are you guys?"

Ed, Al and Winry were very confused. What could they say to explian their presence, when they didn't even understand it themselves? 'Um hi, we're some random people… We tried to cross the gate but we ended up here fighting a bunch of blue monsters with you guys. Who are _you_ again?' didn't sound too impressive, or sensible.

"Uh, well-" Al began.

"ISN'T _ANYONE ELSE_-"

"MARS!" Venus shouted. It wasn't much like her to be serious, or to shout, but in times that required both of her, she could always provide such things. "They're not evil! That girl helped me before! So it's okay, take a chill pill!"

The air became thick for a moment while Mars stared lividly at Sailor V, until she regained some of her senses. She didn't want these people to harm anyone, but as Venus had said, they weren't evil, and _Venus_ was the one to listen to now. She sat down with most of the rest of the Senshi, awaiting Sailor V's direction. It was Serena, however, who spoke next.

"What are you talking about, Mars?" She questioned, starting to stand. Mamoru, still dressed as Tuxedo Mask, was careful not to let her fall. "Venus?" she asked. "What's going on?"

Sailor V looked at Winry for a few seconds before twisting around back to face the one other blue-eyed blond in their group. "Bunny…" she began. "Do you remember, right after your first attack, Mars said she sensed something else come in with us? I think… these people are it."

Bunny glanced at the three with her face slightly contorted in thought, while the rest of the Senshi started to stand.

"But they're not _bad_!" Jupiter said. "I saw that one get rid of a cytos!" she continued, pointing at Edward.

"And like I said, the girl helped me before." Venus added. Ed looked like he was getting pissed from being talked about as if he wasn't there, and would have made a move to get up and yell if, a) Al hadn't seen it coming and held him back before he could even do anything, and, b) one of the women with blue hair hadn't spoken first.

"Don't you think…" Neptune started in a calm manner - something that was rare for her _not_ to be in - "That we should learn their names, and that we should just ask _them_ who's side they're on?" It was a sensible question, but it still caused a few moments of awkward silence between both parties until an over-eager, pink-haired girl ventured forth.

"Yeah!" Chibi Moon said, and walked over towards Winry, whom she was inclined to like by looks alone. "_I_ am RI-ni." she said, holding out her hand. Winry took it hesitantly. "Uh, Winry." she replied with a small smile. They shook hands, and Winry relaxed some. So, it appeared that they weren't all angry at her like the woman with the black hair and red skirt was!

"Chibi Moon!" Mars started. "You can't use your real name like that."(**-3**)

"Mars... It's _alright._" Jupiter said, exasperated.

"Sailor Mars, they've already seen Bunny de-morph and we've been referring to her by her real name for some time. Also, if they've come through the fight with Kazuhide with us, maybe they deserve to learn our real names? They already know Buns (**-4**), so it's just as well." Tuxedo Mask said. Bunny curled closer to him at the mention of her favourite nick-name. He had a point, after all.

Mars sighed and crossed her arms, de-morphing herself. "I guess you're right." she replied.

During this conversation, venus had begun to walk towards the female member of the Trio. "Um, Win…ry?" she asked. "You helped me back there… thank you." she said, extending her hand as Rini had before. "I'm Sailor V, but you can call me Mina." Although she was a bit scared by the forwardness of these women, (especially the little pink one who spoke as if whoever she was introducing herself to was five years old and spoke another language altogether), Winry appreciated the gesture, and grasped the blonde woman's hand. "...Well, you helped me first!" she said, shaking Venus's hand. She stood, and both girls smiled. They looked each other over for a few seconds before both of them suddenly exclaim at the same time, "_Cute_ skirt!" After which point, they laughed, and much of Winry's tension about the situation vanished.

Jupiter approached Edward after de-transforming. "I'm Makoto" she said as he stood. Al was standing too, and before Ed could respond, he replied (very enthusiastically): "We're the Elric brothers!"

The Senshi of course had no idea that his statement was supposed to ring a bell with them, but with the general confusion that resulted from all of the de-morphed Senshi and the Trio trading introductions, and with so many new names to learn, time wasn't found for either side to be surprised by the fact that they had no idea who the other side was until Edward asked them:

"Are you guys alchemists?"

The group was generally confused by that question. "We're the Sailor Soldiers…" Bunny began. "Haven't you heard of us?" Rini asked. Winry, Ed and Al all shook their heads. The Pretty Sailor Soldiers, especially Sailor V, were used to being recognised by the general public, whereas Ed and Al were used to being recognised as the Elric brothers. Both groups were surprised that they were all unheard of to each other.

"What are alchemists?" Makoto asked, right as Ami said "_Al_chemists?" Mako looked at her. If anyone would know what an 'Alchemist' was, it was probably Mizuno Ami.

And of course, she _had_ heard of them, but not for a long time.

"Yeah…" Ed trailed off in response to Ami's question. He chose, for the most part, to ignore Makoto's. (Did they really not know what alchemy was? It seemed so im_prob_able). "Alchemists…" Ami repeated. "No, we're definitely not alchemists. We don't use alchemy here!" She said with a bit of a giggle. It was a strange thought though.

"What was it Ling called it, brother…" Al started, but Ed stiffened at the mention of Ling's name. He still wasn't over seeing Ling become a homunculus right in front of his eyes. "Rentanjutsu? Is that what you call it here?" Al carried on. He wasn't sure if they were in Xing, but it was worth a try.

"No…" Ami started. "I mean, there isn't such a thing as alchemy anymore. It's called chemistry now, well, chemistry is what it developed into anyway."

"Chemistry?" Rini said. "Wow, are you guys scientists?"

Ed and Al didn't respond. Neither did Winry. They _couldn't_ respond. They couldn't believe what they had just heard.

****

There wasn't such a thing as alchemy anymore in this place? WHERE WERE THEY!

Winry could have fainted right on the spot. For the longest time, alchemy seemed to be all she ever heard about besides automail. It had been Ed and Al's life for as long as she could remember, and it had pulled them away from her too. And now they were in a place where it wasn't even used? It was cruelly ironic.

The Alchemists, on the other hand, were too shocked to be sad. Edward's jaw seemed to drop to the ground, and had Al had a human jaw, his would have done the same. Alchemy was their life! It was the reason it was their life – their interest in alchemy had made them think to restore their mother, and in doing so, they had been required to use it even more afterwards in the search to correct their mistakes. But... but here, it wasn't... _anything_?

And, of course, not knowing what alchemy meant to the Trio, Ami chose to answer Rini's question right at that moment. "Well, it was never a _real_ science, Rini." Ami said.

... It might not have been the _best_ moment to answer that question, especially in that way...

And all members of the Amestris Trio could have died right there immediately after Ami had finished saying such a blasphemous thing. Winry's eyes almost popped out of her skull, and Ed and Al could have cried in astonishment.

****

WHAT.

DID.

SHE.

JUST.

SAY?

There were a few moments of stunned silence between the Senshi and the trio. The Senshi were confused because they had never even heard of that which apparently so much to the Trio... and the Trio was confused because the Senshi had _never even heard of that which was such an important part of their lives. _After a short amount of time, in which only the falling rain could be heard, Winry's voice pierced the semi-silence of the outdoors and spoke aloud the question all three of them had been wondering.

"Where… _are _we?" Winry asked finally.

"Tokyo, Japan" Ami replied matter-of-factly. Ed, Al and Winry had blank expressions, (which was a large improvement from the shocked and angry ones they had donned before, but sadly still not very hopeful). "What's that?" Winry said. She had never heard of it, and neither had the boys. "You mean you haven't…" Venus started. _They hadn't heard of Japan?_ "Where are _you_ guys from?"

"Amestris…" Al responded. The Senshi looked confused. "So… this isn't Xing? Or Creta? Or Aerugo? Or Drachma?" Al said, listing any country he knew in hopes that they would find one familiar. All countries called themselves something different then _another_ country's interpretation of their name… but perhaps they'd find something they'd heard before. All he knew was that this place wasn't the gate; _that_ was for sure.

"I've never… heard of any of those places…" Ami said. She narrowed her eyes in thought. "How did you three _get_ here?" she asked.

"We're kind of wondering the same thing." Ed said, suppressing a shudder brought on by the icy downpour.

"...It's almost as if you guys are from another world or something!" Makoto said, with a nervous laugh. "Maybe you're not from Earth! After all, I guess _we_ technically aren't…" Well, it was true. The Senshi weren't even really from the time period they now resided in. They were all from their respective planets, and the Silver Millennium thousands of years ago. Truthfully, _Mamoru_ was the only one from Earth.

"…Earth?" Winry repeated, the name sounding weird as it came off of her tongue. She'd never said it before, as she had no idea what it was. Ed and Al were equally perplexed.

"Yeah, Earth, duh!" Rini said, and giggled. When the three teens remained confused, her laughter awkwardly decreshendoed and died, leaving an odd air to overcome the group as they finally realised the magnitude of what might be going on.

"You guys… don't know what Earth is?" Rei asked, breaking one of the many silences that seemed to come between the two groups. The Trio shook their heads. "You guys don't know what _alchemy_ is?" Ed asked in turn. He still couldn't believe that it didn't _exist_ anymore, and not only that, that when it _had_ existed it wasn't even a 'real' science. "No, we'd never heard of it 'till you guys mentioned it. At least, none of us except Ami." Venus said. "Or Amestris?" he pondered aloud. "I don't think that country… even exists… Not that we know of, anyway." Ami said sadly.

The three's faces were the epitome of disbelief. Before their shock could possibly turn into heartbreak, Haruka decided to change the subject for the time being, and affirmatively said, "We should probably find somewhere else to talk."

"I agree. We need to get out of the rain." Setsuna said. "I don't want Small Lady to catch a cold."

Luna sneezed. "I think I've already got one." she said.

"Well… we can't all go to my house, my parents are still angry at the mess we left the last time you guys all slept over…" Mako-chan said. "But you're right, we should find somewhere dry to talk everything out."

"We can't use the shrine, Grandpa wants it to stay clean before the upcoming festival…" Rei added.

"You guys just came over yesterday, and I don't want to go home because I failed my maths test so Mum will be angry… And my parents would probably be suspicious…" Bunny trailed off.

It appeared that there weren't many places to go, as the places where the Senshi usually met together were slowly ruled out. The rain pitter-pattered on the ground as the group stood in the quiet for a minute.

"HMMM." Rini said loudly. "I WONDER where we could find a place where there aren't any other GROWN UPS around..."

Bunny got the hint, and turned towards Mamoru slyly. "Oh MAAAAAAAAAAAAmochaaaaaann…" she sing-songed. At which point, all of the Senshi began to watch the humorous, inevitable scene that was going to come. No one had mentioned Setsuna's or Haruka and Michiru's places, nor Hotaru's. All of them probably could have brought over the group… or at least, if they couldn't, nothing was said about their inabilities to do so. But somehow, once again, it fell to Mamoru to host the girls.

If they hadn't all been soaked with rain, the large beads of sweat forming profusely on his head would have been visible. But, alas, they looked merely like the raindrops that were already present there, and went relatively unnoticed. "Puh-leeeee_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa_aasssseee?" Rini and Bunny asked all-too sweetly, grabbing Mamoru on either side. He looked at the other Senshi, possibly for help, but none came. He looked at Winry and Ed, and noticed that they were shivering in the cold, (although Edward was trying to hide it). Rini was trembling too, as were a lot of the other Scouts. …He didn't want anyone to get a cold, which was definitely going to be a problem if they stayed there any longer. He sighed. "Alright…" he started. "Let's all go to my place and we can-"

"_AAHHH REALLY THANK YOU MAMOCHAAAAAAA -"_

"Then, can I have a piggy back ride there?"

Bunny grumbled at being interuppted (conviniently forgetting the fact that she had interupted Mamoru herself). "Rini! You are so... _spoiled..._"

Mamoru smiled at the pink-haired girl's efforts... She was cute, even if her actions _were_ a little annoying. He picked her up as she had requested, causing Diana to jump off of Rini.

"Diana, where're you going?" Rini said. "Small Lady, I usually fall off when you are on Mamoru-san's back." She replied. "Diana," Luna began. "You shouldn't walk on your own... I don't want you to step in a puddle and get even more wet…"

"But I can't hold her." Rini started in reply. Poor Diana! She was already practically frozen to the bone, and her fur dripped constantly from the falling rain.

"Can I…" Al started timidly. "Hold the kitty?"

Ed rolled his eyes. At first, Rini was a bit intimidated by the large suit of armour asking to hold her Christmas present from so long ago and her closest friend and advisor, (besides Hotaru), but after realising that Al's voice had such a soft tone to it, and seeing him in the ridiculous stance she herself usually took when she wanted something, (the one where both hands were clasped together as if in prayer, and the bent knees and puppy-dog eyes... or rather, eyes that would have been that way if they could've been), Rini decided that it would be okay. "Yeah Diana, go with – Al, right?" she asked, remembering his name from all their introductions before.

"Yesss!" he said, half in response to her question and half in his joy at getting to hold the kitten. There were few things Al liked better than alchemy, his brother (/ his family), and kitties. "Yeah… you guys are obviously far from home, and you look like you're going to be sick if you stay out here any longer, so you should come too." Venus said to Ed and Winry, and hopefully Al, (though he didn't look like he was paying attention to anything other than Diana). "Maybe we can figure everything out at Mamoru's." she continued.

All three of them were pleasantly surprised at her kindness, not to mention everyone else's. However, at the same time, these people were nice almost to the point of being suspicious, and it wasn't as if the Trio really _knew_ any of them..."Well… we wouldn't want to impose on people we just met…" Winry started. "Awww come on, it'll be okay. Mamoru-san is a great guy, and his place is nice. Although I guess anything would be better than here right now!" Sailor V responded with a grin.

"Yes; and since you three were only present after the rebound from Sailor Moon's attack, and since we only first saw you in that world with the cytosi and Kazuhide, maybe you can help us figure out where we were. If we figure that out, maybe we can get you back home. I have a few theories on how you got here in the first place, too, but we'll need to talk it out. I think talking it out here would not be beneficial to anyone." Ami stated as they began to walk to Mamoru's.

"And besides, you guys seem like nice people. You helped us out!" Makoto added.

A strong gust of wind came right after Mako's statement, splattering everyone's faces with the cold rain and reminding them that they needed to remove themselves from such an environment. "So, are we on your 'side' then?" Winry asked through chattering teeth, still thinking about Neptune's statement from before. Makoto laughed. "Well Rei, are they okay?" she enquired of her raven-haired friend. Rei smiled. "Yeah." she said. "I _guess._" she added with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't like knowing I had left people out in the cold, especially if they had helped out my friends." Mamoru thought out loud. "You sure it's... okay?" Winry asked him. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course." he said. At this seemingly kind action however, both Serena and Ed scowled. (_What the hell was he touching her for_?) Their eyes turned to angry slits and remained that way until Al interrupted their jealous stupour by asking Rini about Diana.

"So how old is she?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Rini said with a laugh. "Oh yes…" Al said.

"...Huh?" Winry said as she and Edward turned to look at Al and his newfound feline playmate. With all the shock of being in a different world, (one which didn't even have alchemy!), she and Ed hadn't noticed that the cats could all talk. Al of course, just thought it was cool that he could now converse with his favourite animal, and failed to be scared. "Luna, Artemis and Diana." Sailor V started. "Haven't you noticed they've been talking to us the whole time?"

"_THEY CAN **TALK**?_" Ed and Winry exclaimed at the same time, causing Al to sigh as everyone else sweatdropped slightly. "Haha wow, I thought it was just you guys but maybe _all_ blondes are kind of ditzy!" Jupiter said without thinking. Before Ed and Winry could even react, Bunny and Venus were on either side of her, glaring like their was no tomorrow.

"Uh, I mean... heh... you guys know I didn't mean that..."

"Yes, we can talk." Artemis interrupted angrily, ending Jupiter's predicament. He was a smart kitty, he was! He was an advisor to the Royal Family, after all!

Venus broke away from Jupiter and laughed at her cat's defensive remark. "Oh calm down Artemis, don't you remember how surprised _I_ was when I first found out you could talk?" she said. Artemis sighed. "Yes Minako-chan." he said. It was at her real name however, that he noticed she wasn't in her regular form. "Venus… why haven't you de-morphed yet?" he asked.

"Oh! ...I guess I forgot!" she replied with a nervous laugh, and took the time to de-morph to an orange skirt and white sweatshirt, hoping that Art wouldn't revisit the matter.

"...So anyway... Your name is Diana?" Al asked the grey kitten he was holding. "Yes." Diana responded in her squeaky voice. "You're so cute!" Al exclaimed. "So, how old are you?" he pondered.

"Almost as old as Small Lady." she responded. "Small Lady… is that you, Rini?"

"Yeah." she replied. "So, how old are _you_?" Al enquired. Rini laughed. "Older than you think."

"Really? I'm younger than a lot of people think. I'm fourteen, how old are you?"

Rini giggled again. "Hehe... Nine hundred and three."

"WHAT?" Ed, Winry, and Al responded, causing Al to almost drop Diana. "Rini…" Mamoru started, giving up quickly. After all, if these people already knew everyone's aliases, as the Sailor Soldiers… there wasn't much else that could be secret from the Trio anymore.

Artemis on the other hand couldn't let his qualms with the situation go as easily as Mamoru had. He was still bothered by the fact that Minako had not only donned her uniform for far too long, but the wrong one, and he chose the moment of silence resulting from Rini's statement of her age to speak to Mina-chan.

"Minako-chan…" he began. "Why did you wear your Sailor V uniform?"

Mina faltered for a second and almost stumbled, but successfully regained her balance. "Mina, you wore your Sailor V uniform?" Makoto asked. "Didn't you all notice?" Artemis asked back. "No…" Mako-chan replied. Bunny looked up, surprised. "You transformed into Sailor V instead of Sailor Venus?" she said. "…Why'd you do that, Mina?"

"Uh, well, you know, the Sailor outfit was SO much like the one I'm wearing now, I, uh, wanted some variety, you know?" She responded apprehensively, smiling too largely and scratching the back of her head. Artemis wasn't satisfied. His face was twisted in serious thought, (or at least, as much as it could be with him being a cat), and he was about to ask her again when Winry spoke first. "Wait, so are you 'Sailor V' or 'Sailor Venus'?" she said with a slight stutter from the cold.

"I'm both." Minako answered. "Yeah, Mina was way famous before we all were! She even has a game based off of her!" Bunny said proudly. She had always felt so special having met THE Sailor V, and not only that, getting to see her on a daily basis. Not to mention she was also the best player of the Sailor V game anyone had ever seen.

"But still Minako, why did you-"

A clap of thunder, a flash of lightning, and another forceful gust of wind interrupted the argument and threw the group into a short silence. Ami had noticed Mina-chan's obvious discomfort at the questioning moments before, and wished to change the subject before anyone else spoke again and before anything else made her uneasy. Hoping to get out of the rain soon as everyone was, Ami decided to divert the conversatoin to a question she thought everyone was _bound_ to be wondering... "Mamoru-san?" she began.

"...How much further is your apartment?"

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**_End of Chapter Four

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**_A/N:_  
-(1)** Um… I made that up. I mean, they did have relationships with Endymion's generals, (I don't remember whether it is simply implied or actually stated), but I don't remember how they all died in the manga. I hate the way they die in the anime! It's too quickly done. Anyway, I went back and re-read the issue where they talk about Bunny's suicide when they go to the moon… but it doesn't say how the inners all die. Maybe that's in another issue; I don't own them all. I'm writing my own prequel to the SM first season, all about the Silver Millennium, which will apply to this story (when I post it). That won't be for a while though, as it's very much in the works. Gah! In short, they all got killed by their former lovers (because I love drama and angst). :D  
**-(2)** This is literally said in the manga! So you's can't tell's me it be wrong, yo! (Wow, I'm so white…)  
**-(3)** Alrighty... I know that they call Bunny/Serena/Usagi her real name in the manga whether she's transformed or not, but I really don't remember them doing the same thing for the other Senshi. Annnnnd even if they did there, they don't in the anime so... yeah. But really! I mean, using their real names is stupid. Way to give your identity away when you already look exactly like your other identity all the time! Bleh.  
**-(4)** That is - no joke - what he calls her in my manga translation. Yeah. I'll probably use Usa-ko more often because I like that better, buuuuut if I feel that her name is getting to repetative I might use Buns hehehehehe.

Thanks to **all of my reviewers. **It is appreciated muchly. :)

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**_Reviewers make me happy inside. And they always get replies!

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